Across the globe, we are at a time in the evolution of organizations where people are in search of a more human-center approach to leadership. One of the essential elements in the pursuit of reclaiming our humanity is Leadership Presence.
When the capacity of presence is fully expressed, it is palpable and it emanates from us, energetically. There is consistency in our actions, in our words and in our bodies. We are experienced as; centred and connected. We exude authenticity and are open to and present for those around us. We embody the strength of purpose, courage and vulnerability. It is the capacity to witness ourselves, loosen our grip on our habits and conditioned patterns of behaviour, and understand our ways of interpreting the world.
To achieve a deeper presence, a move toward our authored-self is important.
Self-authorship is a stage of adult development a limited number of people reach, fully. Harvard Professor Robert Kegan’s longitudinal research tells us that only 20-30% of the adult population will achieve full self-authorship in their lifetime. That’s a lot of agency left on the table for us to leverage to move toward greater #Leadership #Presence!
Being authored enables us to shed the roles that society has socialized us to and is the stage in which we fully organize our'self' from the inside out. We no longer seek validation from our surround, rather we fully and deeply stand in our own understanding and perspectives. We are free from; roles and expectations of others, and the need to comply, control and protect ourselves, thereby enabling us to be present with ourselves and for others.
Self-authorship does not mean we don't consider others, in fact, quite the opposite. In this stage of our development, we have fully evaluated our world-views and have chosen every aspect. Our socialized identity dies. Our new self-authored self emerges. This allows us to hold another person's perspective with our own. We are able to separate our state from the context around us and choose our actions.
The field of adult development (of which self-authorship is one stage) is quite significant and wide to cover in any blog, that said, a leader seeking to shape and transform their presence to handle greater complexity will find it a valuable exploration and investment.
To learn more about Leadership Presence check-out my workshop focused specifically on building this capacity.